Ambassadors to the 27 European Union member states have said they intend to take a decision on the post-Brexit trade deal within days.
On Christmas Day, diplomats were briefed on the contents of the deal by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.
Sebastian Fischer, a spokesman for the German presidency of the Council of the EU, joked that he was looking forward to the diplomats’ meeting “because nothing is more fun than to celebrate Christmas among socially distanced colleagues”.
“Thank you Brexit,” he added.
Parliament will be recalled on Dec 30 to pass the agreement, where all eyes will be on the size of any rebellion from hardcore Tory Brexiteers in factions like the European Research Group (ERG), which is reconvening its so-called “star chamber” of legal experts to examine the 1,246 pages of text.
But the deal is expected to pass, with Labour signalling for weeks it is likely to back it or, if not, to abstain.
A deal will also have to be backed by the EU’s 27 member states, which are expected to formally back the deal.
A 34-page summary of the deal has been published on the UK government’s website.
On Thursday the UK and EU announced it had agreed on a deal for their future trading relationship after the Brexit transition period ends on December 31.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told a Brussels press conference on Thursday: “It was a long and winding road but we have got a good deal to show for it.
“It is fair, it is a balanced deal and it is the right and responsible thing to do for both sides.”
Boris Johnson simply tweeted: “The deal is done.”
Barnier, meanwhile, summed up the relief at the end of four-and-a-half years of talks since the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016, confirming: “The clock is no longer ticking.”
But he added: “Today is a day of relief tempered by some sadness as we compare what came before with what lies ahead.”
Boris Johnson hailed the deal as a “new beginning” for the UK that resolves the European question that has “bedevilled” British politics for generations, but Labour leader Keir Starmer said the deal was “thin”.
At a Downing Street press conference on Christmas Eve, Johnson said the UK “will as a result of this deal be able to catch and eat quite prodigious quantities of extra fish”, with £100 million for the industry to modernise and expand.
The historic agreement comes after marathon final negotiations went through the night on December 23, fuelled by delivery pizzas, and well into Christmas Eve as the clock ticked down towards the December 31 deadline, when current trading arrangements expire.
The deal means the UK has agreed terms for its £668bn trading relationship with the EU from January 1, after the end of the Brexit transition period during which the country has continued following Brussels rules.
There will continue to be no tariffs or quotas on trade between the UK and EU.
But the UK will leave the European single market and customs union, which have allowed seamless trade for decades, with new barriers including customs controls and checks imposed on British firms trading with the EU.
It means the UK has avoided the potential disaster of a no-deal Brexit, but the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has forecast that, even with this kind of trade deal, there will be a 4% long-term hit to the economy and a delay to the UK’s recovery from Covid.
